Prosecutors are trying to convince a Suffolk County grand jury that Aaron Hernandez should be charged in the shooting death of two men in July 2012.

"The case against Hernandez appears to be strengthening," a law enforcement official told The Boston Globe. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the case publicly.

The presentation of the case to a grand jury hints that the investigation of the double homicide is now focused on Hernandez. The victims, Safiro Furtado and Daniel Abreu, were immigrants from Cape Verde. They were killed on July 16, 2012 when someone driving an SUV with Rohde Island license plates drove by their car and opened fire.

Police in Boston connected the ex-New England Patriots star to the double murder, which took place on a South End street, after Hernandez was charged with the murder of Odin Lloyd. Sources told the Globe that investigators believe the 23-year-old killed his former associate because Lloyd had information about the killings in South End and could potentially talk.

Police searched the home of Hernandez's uncle in Bristol, after Carlos Ortiz, one of the two men with Hernandez the night Lloyd was shot, told investigators that he drove back to the house after Lloyd's killing, accompanied by Ernest Wallace, the other man who was with Hernandez the night Lloyd was killed.

At the Bristol home, police found the sports utility vehicle they believed was used in the drive-by shooting of Furtado and Abreau. The motives for their killings are unknown and the families of the victims said the men did not know Hernandez and neither of them had a criminal record.

In Massachusetts, all those charged with murder must be indicted by a grand jury before they can be placed on trial. Often that happens after a suspect is arrested and arraigned in the district court system.

Tags
Aaron Hernandez